Theresa got me into photography (again!) by getting an awesome camera last year - which then led to Matt getting me the same awesome camera! So the two of us are learning as we go on the tips and tricks to making better photos. We certainly have different styles, she is an "Aperture Always Wide Open" kind of shooter and I'm a more "Change Up Everything and See What Happens". Both styles have their advantages and disadvantages. Add on to that we have one lens in common and one different, well we're bound to notice some differences.
Thus the Flare. Theresa has been trying to get Lens / Sun Flar in her photos. I'm not that into it, so I figured she would figure it out and let me know. Apparently, she's decided to toss that ball in my court...
So I googled it some today and made an attempt at it:
Ok, I can kinda see the draw to the flare when it's highlighting my cute little guy...!
There are a few tricks from the article I read that I found to be super helpful!
First - line your subject up so there is a line between camera, subject and sun. Easier said than done with a crawling baby and a yard I can't use because it just got doused the previous day in fertilizer. So the porch was our only option!
Second- the better the lens, the harder it will be. My Prime lens really struggled to flare, but my zoom lens had no problem - the extra glass in the zoom might have helped as well.
Third - close the aperture! I was on the high end of the f-stop. That first picture was f-20. So, I can see why Theresa might have had so problems with it.
Fourth - take the lens hood off. My zoom doesn't have a hood, so it didn't really matter. But the article said to do it, so I did take it off for the Prime.
Lastly - you have to move around to line the light up with the right spot in your lens to catch a flare. I was laying on the porch shooting up toward the sun. If you can't see the flare, the camera won't see it either. I may have almost blinded myself a few times getting it right...
I think these photos are more flare than I would usually try to get in a photo, but it was more about the "can I?" than the "make it perfect!"
And obviously, it's much easier to do when your subject isn't moving all over. I had to manually focus the camera on Thomas because the sun kept throwing the sensor off. Was much easier when he didn't move too much...
All that to say, Theresa it isn't really your fault. The next photo was the best I could do with the Prime lens. Maybe you can get some flare next time I show up on your doorstep if I simply hand over my zoom lens! ; )